The coin sound from Super Mario Bros, arguably as iconic as the melodic soundtrack, is our Most Loved Post of the week, as represented by composer Koji Kondo’s minimalist score and chosen by photographer Raven Smith....
The Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog, Tetris… The eighties were a rich period for the computer games industry, producing characters and worlds that live on today, albeit in shinier, multi-dimensional, often sexier forms. But for many of us, the computer game reached its zenith in 1985, when Nintendo welcomed us into the Mushroom Kingdom, where we played as the moustachioed Super Mario Brothers, dodging Koopa shells, shooting fireballs, and diving down warp pipes. Of course, the game had a chivalrous purpose – rescuing the beautiful Princess Peach (née Toadstool) from the evil clutches of Bowser – but really it was all about collecting the golden coins that littered the sky, seas and underground caverns of the world; coins that, when grabbed, made the most satisfying high pitched ringing noise. This coin sound, arguably as iconic as the soundtrack, is our Most Loved Post of the week, as represented by composer Koji Kondo’s minimalist score and chosen by District MTV's art director Raven Smith.
"Super Mario Brothers was all about collecting the golden coins that, when grabbed, made the most satisfying high pitched ringing noise."
According to working theories, 2013 is all about the tiny, the sleek and the invisible – the iPad Mini, the Cloud, Google Glass – with a focus on tools that are swift and intuitive, and games that are immersive and infinitely layered. Yet, in contrast, technostalgia has long been a key theme on AnOther Loves, from Olly Moss’s Tetris inspired willow pattern plate to Cher’s wardrobe computer from 1996’s Clueless, and it is in this tradition from which our latest Loves winner emerges, a celebration of the days when simplicity was a winning equation for games, and gamers sought the high pitched ringing gained by collecting coins in a one dimensional mushroom kingdom.
Here we speak to Smith about his sonorous Love, and his burgeoning interior design anxiety.
Why did you choose to Love it?
It’s the only thing I can play on a piano
Where would you put it if you owned it?
There’s a space next to a Baldessari print I bought off Ebay. My boyfriend and I had to forgo cheese for a month to afford to get it framed. Speaking of my pad, I’m slowly becoming aware how severe the décor is – all graphic wooden knickknacks, West German pots and marble trinkets. I spend the majority of my time sourcing stuff like this to suggest to visitors that I’m well-travelled, well-heeled and well-read. Though now I’m panicking I seem well-rehearsed. Curating eclecticism is a ball-ache.
Super Mario or Sonic the Hedgehog?
Sonic. 100%. I think he was gay with Tails, too. Two lads rambling through a foreign land collecting rings. Bit Sitges, no?
What would be your costume of choice to a Superhero/Comic themed party?
Talis, (see above).
What's your favourite sound?
It’s quite hard to answer this without sounding like a schoolgirl or a pervert.
What was the last thing you bought?
A graphic West German marble ashtray.
What are you looking forward to about April?
Eating cheese again.
Text by Tish Wrigley
